Sonia Curvelo enters her fifth season as the head coach of the Devilettes. In her first year, MVSU was co-division winner of the 2009 SWAC Eastern title. In her first recruiting class in 2010, Curvelo led the the Devilettes to the SWAC Championship Finals and became the SWAC All-Academic champions of 2010-2011, maintaining a cumulative team GPA of 3.4. Then in 2011, MVSU was crowned SWAC Championships finalists.
Curvelo has made three conference appearances (2009, 2010, 2011) since coming to MVSU; eight players have been selected for SWAC Preseason Soccer Honors; nine players for SWAC All-Conference Team and 14 for the SWAC All-Tournament Team. In 2010-2011, Curvelo’s student-athlete won the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, which is the highest GPA of all female student-athletes at MVSU.
Curvelo's 2011-12 MVSU soccer team completed the academic term with a 3.52 team GPA, which was the highest amongst the schools 18 programs and first in the SWAC. Curvelo coached the 2012 SWAC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year and 13 of her student-athletes have been tabbed preseason All-SWAC.
During the 2012 season, Curvelo led the Devilettes to its third SWAC Tournament title in school history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. She was also named the 2012 SWAC Coach of the Year. In addition, she coached the 2012 SWAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. During the 2012-13 term, the MVSU women's soccer team ranked first amongst Valley's 15 sports in team GPA with a 3.59.
She is a member of the National Soccer Coaches of America Association (NSCAA), United States Soccer Federation (USSF), National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administration (NACWAA) and Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Curvelo also serves as the SWAC soccer chairperson, representing all women's soccer coaches in the conference.
Curvelo comes to MVSU after serving as associate coach at Fanshawe College in Ontario and a player development coach at the SB9 Soccer Academy in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Strathroy native has made a name for herself in the world of international soccer. She has played as a member of the Portugal National Team and also signed her first professional contract with CF Puebla of the Women's Spanish Super League in Spain. While playing for the Portugal National Team, she made her first international appearance against the Wales on January 30, 2008 and has also competed in the European Qualifying Matches. She was selected, along with 89 other players around the world, to the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Combine. She has also played for three teams in the USL W-League: the Tampa Bay Hellenic (09-10), Rochester Rhinos (08) and London Gryphons (06-07). Curvelo also brings history and experience to the program as she was one of the original members of the MVSU soccer program. As a student-athlete, she was a vital performer on the 2005 championship run by assisting the first goal and scoring the game winning goal to win the first SWAC Title in school history. She competed in the NCAA Championship Tournament in 2005. She also served as vice president of the MVSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Administration Honors Society. In 2003-2006, she was named to the SWAC All-Conference Team and was named Most Valuable Performer of the SWAC Soccer Tournament in 2005.
She has played at the highest level in four countries: United States, Canada, Portugal and Spain.
Curvelo is a NCAA Women's Coaches Academy graduate and a graduate of NSCAA Diploma Course - Tactical Thinking with Jose Mourinho. She is a member of The Alliance of Women Coaches and the NCAA Women's Soccer Regional Advisory Committee. Curvelo is also a member of the National Soccer Association of America (NSCAA) Women's Soccer Regional Advisory Committee and the Portuguese American Soccer Coaches of America. Since 2012, she has served as the SWAC women's soccer chairperson. She holds a United States Soccer Federation National "B" coaching license.
Education
Curvelo earned her Master of Science in Sport Coaching Education from the University of Southern Mississippi in August 2013. While earning her master's degree, she was named Oustanding Master's Student for the Department of Human Performance and Recreation. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from MVSU, in which she was chosen as an Outstanding Business Administration Scholar in 2007. She graduated with a 3.71 grade point average and was also a President's List Scholar from 2005-2007.
